Hill full of praise for Vaz Te

Barnsley manager Keith Hill hailed the match-winning ability of Ricardo Vaz Te after he scored both goals in the 2-1 npower Championship victory over Crystal Palace.

The 25-year-old Portuguese forward scored the fastest ever goal at Oakwell when he thundered the Tykes into a seven-second lead with a superb strike and then he earned the win with a cool finish 13 minutes from time, after Jermaine Easter had levelled for Palace.

Vaz Te is enjoying a second chance in English football after joining Hill's side in the summer, a year after being released by Bolton, and his manager said: "He's understanding me, I'm understanding him and he knows what what we want from a team aspect but he's got the individual ability to win football matches."

He added: "He's holding down the responsibility but it will take time. It's a progression.

"I have never seen a goal as fast as that before and it was a great goal. He is capable of that.

"But with the demands of the Championship, there might be a little bit of burnout somewhere because he hasn't fulfilled a full league campaign before."

Palace boss Dougie Freedman watched on as his side played for the third time in a week and he believes it is catching up with them.

"It was not an ideal start. It just goes to show how crucial the warm-up is," he said.

"I thought after that we settled down and at half-time we deserved to go in one each, so I was pleased with the response of the lads.

"You don't make excuses because we're professionals but it has caught up on us injury-wise. It's not an excuse - Barnsley are a good team."